All forms provided on federal websites should be fillable. Many forms currently available require individuals to print them out before they can be filled out. Requiring those who need to fill out forms to print forms first and then fill them out by hand means that they are not fillable in any meaningful sense to people who are blind or visually impaired. In order to be truly accessible, these forms and web-based applications
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After looking at the ideas presented in this forum, I saw websites referenced that I had never heard of before. I agree with the concept of a central starting point for easy accessibility but I do not think we need to reinvent the wheel either.
Instead I suggest updated/altering USA.gov to meet many of the needs presented in this forum:
(1) Provide more options in USA.gov to help users navigate the maze of services
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The value of a web site is not only its content but in ease of accessibility and movement throughout the site. There is nothing more frustrating than to maneuver unsuccessfully and waste precious time in the process.

Submitted by Community Memberin Sep 2011

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Agency websites are required to provide captions with streaming audiovisual content. Section 508, requires that multimedia presentations provide a transcript that is audio synchronized to the presentation. See §§ 1194.22 (a) and (b) of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. This should be standard protocol for all video content appearing on federal websites.

When looking for an accessible web solution, agencies should consult people in the disability community. Specifically, the National Federation of the Blind and other advocacy groups not only represent tens of thousands of disabled people, but organizations like the NFB commonly have specialists on staff who can point an agency in the right direction. In addition, because federal purchasing power spurs the development
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Too often, agencies treat website accessibility as a “problem” to be solved on an after-the-fact or ad hoc basis. This approach is costly—fixing an inaccessible website is more expensive than designing and maintaining it to be accessible from the beginning and throughout development. This approach is also difficult to maintain—without proper accessibility guidelines and procedures in place, a website that is initially
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Currently, memorial V.A. flags are 'not' distributed to family of deceased from the V.A., but mailed to the local post office branches for distribution to mortuaries, upon receipt of a paper application form. This costs the Federal Government a minimum of $12 per flag, including manufacture, postage and handling fees. Why not have a website that would allow each flag to be ordered, for the deceased veteran, online with
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Submitted by Community Memberin Sep 2011

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Here are a few basic things developers can do that can greatly enhance the accessibility of web applications to people with disabilities. If developers designed ground up with accessibility in mind, it makes for a better experience.
• Use Page Headers
• Skip Navigation Link
• Add Meaningful Alternate Text for Images
• Add labels to all form fields
• Tables - Mark Up Data Tables correctly
• Don't Use Color Solely to
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The principles and guidlelines of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) should be applied to Federal website design. UDL will ensure that the broadest range of uses will be able to access and gain knowledge from Federal websites. Universal Design for Learning takes the concept of Universal Design one step further. In addition to focusing on physical accessibility (e.g. text to speech, accessible word or pdf documents) it
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You posed a question about how to improve federal websites.
My suggestion is look at commercial sites that people use in everyday life that are easy to use and require the least amount of clicking page to page.
The issue I have with federal agency websites is there no consistency and you have to link down more than two or three levels sometimes to get information.
Also everything should be tagged for accessibility
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What can we do to improve access to government information and services beyond websites? For example, mobile, APIs, and other channels. [Before posting, you may want to see recent dialogue on Making MobileGov

What can we do to improve how we use data, apps, APIs and similar technology to improve how we deliver information and services on federal websites? [Before posting you may want to see recent dialogue on Evolving Data]